SANTIAGO – A special committee comprised of Chilean government ministers and navy representatives has prepared a draft document outlining a national ocean policy, Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz announced on Wednesday.

The document – which addresses ocean conservation and sustainable use of the seas – will be submitted to President Michelle Bachelet on March 9, Muñoz told reporters.

The draft is the result of two years of work by the committee which, along with Muñoz, includes the Environment, Economy and Defense ministers, as well as navy representatives.

Muñoz called the document a “historic step” and said that, while Chile “has had a national Antarctic policy for many decades,” it has never had an “institutional framework” for addressing the full scope of the issues related to the oceans.

He added that the document is the first step toward achieving a national ocean policy, which Chilean authorities will need to keep developing in the future.

Enter your email address to subscribe to free headlines (and great cartoons so every email has a happy ending!) from the Latin American Herald Tribune: